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Brett Schmieder Blog Entry #1

“Thanks Obama.” My brothers and I say this at least once a day. We run out of milk, “thanks Obama.” We hit traffic, “thanks Obama.” Its starts to rain, “thanks Obama.” However many times we say this, I personally hold the utmost respect for any man or woman who holds the title of Commander and Chief. Americans hold onto their hope that the U.S. is the best country in the world by blaming its problems on its government.

Although the men and women of our government do not seem to grasp the idea that “winning” is not the ultimate goal and that compromise is the only way to move forward, we must not forget that the people of the United States have the power to change the worlds perception of this country. “Bears, beets, Battlestar galactica,” “Turf and Turf with a side of scotch,” or even “Burger King delivery,” are some of the popularized perceptions of Americans. I will be the first to admit that these are some of the first things that pop into my head when I think of The United States of America, but in order to have the respect of the rest of the world we must focus on our great achievements and not . Instead of focusing on our culture, we must focus on the individuals that make this country great. An example of how an individual can change the perception of an entire country is Malala Yousafza, a young Pakistani girl who overcame her fear of the Taliban to fight for the education of girls in her home country. She was single handedly able to alter the worlds opinion of her country from a war torn nation to a symbol of hope. Malala’s message was spread throughout the world, but do you know what message America has spread through the world? The message consists of the Kardashians, Bieber fever, and Texas.

In order to become the best country in the world we must first realize that being the best is not important. Next we must breakthrough the world’s popularized perceptions of America by emphasizing our great achievements and de-emphasizing our “Hollywood culture.” Sometimes, Americans need a reality check to show them what’s really important, and Will McAvoy gave us one during his short lecture on why America is in fact not the best country in the world. This reality check is so controversial that the video became viral and is used to teach us a valuable lesson about our place in the world.